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WITNESSES. INVENIOR. fm@

L. AUGUSTUS ASPINWALL, OF ALBANY, lNEW YORK.

Laim Patent No. 97,339, dated No embe' 3o, ist.

IMPRoveM'eNT In Mae` FLOR PLANTING EIIEOTAIILOES.,

The Schedule referred to in these Lettere Patept and making part cf the4 same To qll whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, L. AUGUSTUS ASPINWALL, of the city and county o f Albany, and State of New York, have invented anew and useful Improvement on a Machine for Planting Potatoes; andl do hereby declare that the follow-ing isa full and exact descrip tion of my invention, reference being had to the aeeomf panying drawings, and the letters of referencemarked thereon. v

Figure l represents a perspective view.

Figure 2 representsthel concave.

The machine, as seen in figs. l andv 2, is mounted on a pair of drive-wheels, H H,and provided with a large hopper, A, fox: the reception of the seed. potatoes.

The wheel H upon the drive!- gives inotion to the pinion I, causing the disk L-to revolve.

This disk, as seen in iig. 1, is provided with a spear,--

s, trip t t, and the device M, for operating the trip.

C, ig.` 2, represents the concave, which may' also be seen iu fiIgJ. l, at the bottom of the hopper A, below the disk on the shaft B.

J is the conductor for receiving the potato and guiding itto the plow.

P is the pole.

S is theseat;

E isthe plow.

1D D are the coverers, which are attached to the frame T and pivoted'to the main frame F F at the point K.

The spear s, although not new in itself, is intended 'for picking the potatoes from the hopper and depositing themin the furrow made bythe plow. The point of the spear moves closely in the concave, (where the potatoes form in a line,) enters the seed, andl carries it around out of the top of the hopper.

. The trip t t' is to prevent the potato from being driven too far upon the spear, and to remove the same from it.

|The ldisk, upon which the trip is fastened, moves m the direction of the dart, which causes the trip to strike the device` M at the poi-nt o at e, which discharges the potato in the furrow.`

1t is then driven backby the arm N, while entering the hopper below, an .l again receives a potato.

The distance apart which the potatoes are dropped is regulated by the number of spears, as seen in fig. l, where' they may be increased to 4, as l, 2 2, 3 3 3,' 4 4 i 4.

` The concave is made Vlshaped, in ordcr that the potatoes may roll directly in the way of the spears, thus insuring the chanceY of' catching' one each time.

The object 'of swinging the plow and coverers is, that the depth may be easily regulated, and also raised, to facilitate'turning at theends of the rows, which is a gain over themethod of raising the whole machine by means of handles. The operation ofthe machine is ns follows:

The hopper'heing provided with potatoes, arrange themselves in a row in the concavebelow, when the spear or'spears= are made to revolve by means ot the gearing,.entering the-hopper on its lower side, pierces the potato, carries itfout of the top ot' the hopper, where it is removed by the trip and conductel to the furrow formed by the plow, and. covered by the 4cov- What ll-claim as my invention, and desire t0 secure Witnesses:

JOHN VAN DYCK. J AooB G. SANDERS. 

